SES Inter-University Competition 6.0: Raising awareness on earthquake stability during construction phase

Jolly faces of participants, committee and judges as SES Inter-University Competition 6.0 concludes

It was the sixth installation of SES Inter-University Competition, held at UTAR Sungai Long Campus on 15 February 2020. Organised by Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) Student Chapter and The Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM), the competition aimed to provide a platform for students to apply their knowledge in designing a structure to resist simulated earthquake.

This year saw 31 teams from 16 higher learning institutions putting their skills and knowledge to test, including two teams from Singapore and one team from East Malaysia. The participating higher learning institutions were Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Heriot-Watt University Malaysia, Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Politeknik Sultan Azlan Shah (PSAS), Politeknik Sultan Idris Shah (PSIS), Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), MAHSA University, Manipal International University, Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), and Politeknik Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah (PSA).

SES has been held annually since 2015. It is a build and break competition where participants are required to construct an earthquake resisting structure by only using the provided materials, namely balsa wood, mounting board, sandpaper, wooden baseboard, and superglue. The structure has to be completed within 210 minutes and it has to comply with the assigned theme and feature. The theme for this year placed the highlight on the construction phase of a building, with an additional requirement to include a tower crane and a skywalk. The competition was judged by IEM Chairman of Professional Interview Board Ir Tu Yong Eng, ICE Malaysia Representative Ir Tony Chan Tuck Leong, Design engineer of NS BlueScope Lysaght Malaysia Sdn Bhd Raja Julaili Raja Ali and ICE Member Chiew Chang Chyau.

“This theme is exciting and relevant as earthquakes can strike anytime without noticeable warning. Hence, it is vital to be alert on this as the aftermath can be destructive and hazardous,” said the competition chairperson, Kong Ka Ming. He also expressed his gratitude to everyone involved, including sole sponsor NS Bluescope Lysaght Malaysia Sdn Bhd, a leading international steel product suppliers. NS BlusScope serves building construction, manufacturing and home appliance industries with innovative, high quality coated and painted steel products across ASEAN and North America.

“I was told we have participants from 16 institutions and this time we can call it an international event as we have teams from Singapore,” said Dean of Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science (LKC FES) Ir Prof Dr Goi Bok Min. He was proud of the development of SES Inter-University Competition along the years and wishes the competition will continue to expand and get better in the future.